fbpx
Wikipedia

Incarnations of Immortality

January 01, 1970

Incarnations of Immortality is the name of an eight-book fantasy series by Piers Anthony. The books each focus on one of eight supernatural "offices" (Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature, Evil, Good, and Night) in a fictional reality and history parallel to ours, with the exception that society has advanced both magic and modern technology. The series covers the adventures and struggles of a group of humans called "Incarnations", who hold these supernatural positions for a certain time.

The title alludes to William Wordsworth's 1804 poem "Ode: Intimations of Immortality".[1]

Bibliography edit

Themes edit

Incarnations uses its premise to ponder questions regarding the nature of life. As each character goes from a mortal life to the "office" of an Incarnation, they are forced to contemplate their actions on a daily basis. Each Incarnation may use their office, within limits, as they see fit. This system humanizes what would otherwise be impersonal forces, leading to both extensive considerations of the effects of the incarnation's work and the impact it has on not only humanity but also the other offices of immortality as well.

Another humorous side of Incarnations is the portrayed magic/technology duality. Most series emphasize one or the other means of understanding and manipulating the world, but in Incarnations, each method is equal in usefulness and respect. This leads to a number of amusing parallels, such as competition between automobile and magic-carpet manufacturers. By the future time period of Norton, magic is referred to as the Fifth Fundamental Force, with its own primary particle, the Magicon (similar to a graviton). A few other series have used the technology/magic combined motif, notably Apprentice Adept, another series by Piers Anthony, and Four Lords of the Diamond by Jack Chalker, although that book had an actual technological basis for the explanation of its magic, in contrast to Piers Anthony's work.

Anthony uses the number five extensively. The five Incarnations are associated with the five elements (Death with Earth, Fate with Water, War with Fire, Nature with Air, and Time with Void), and often other items with fives (the previously mentioned Book of Five Rings). There are five fundamental interactions, magic being the fifth. The Llano consists of five songs. In On a Pale Horse, Gaea teaches Zane five patterns of thought, each represented by diagrams of five short lines.

A fourth theme of Incarnations is the multigenerational human story between the Incarnations. Previous characters repeatedly appear in later novels, and by the final novel, every major character is related by blood, marriage, or affair. See the family tree below.

Characters edit

Family tree edit

CedricNiobe
(Fate)		PacianBlanche
Mym
(War)		Orb
(Nature)		Parry
(Evil)
GawainOrlene
(Good)		Norton
(Time)
Gawain II
Magician (Cedric Jr.)Blenda
LunaZane
(Death)

Note: Colors for each of the Incarnations used are from the covers of their respective books.
Note: Gawain II was conceived by Norton and Orlene, but has Gawain's genetic material instead of Norton's (a favor performed by Gaea)

Relationships:

  • Zane (Thanatos, the Incarnation of Death) is the lover and protector of Luna Kaftan (Niobe's granddaughter).
  • Norton (Chronos, the Incarnation of Time) is the lover of Orlene (who becomes Good) as well as the lover of Clotho.
  • Niobe (Clotho, and later Lachesis, Aspects of the Incarnation of Fate) is Orb's (Gaea) mother, and grandmother to Luna (Death's lover), and Orlene (Good). She is also lover to Chronos.
  • Mym (Mars, the Incarnation of War) is father to Orlene (Good) and former lover of Orb (Gaea).
  • Orb (Gaea, Mother Nature) is mother to Orlene (Good), daughter to Niobe (Clotho/Lachesis, Fate), and former lover of Mym (War).
  • Parry (Satan, the Incarnation of Evil) is married to Orb (Mother Nature), and stepfather to Orlene (Good).
  • Orlene (God, sometimes called "the Goddess", the Incarnation of Good) is Nature's daughter, War's daughter, Fate's granddaughter, Time's lover and mother to his biological son (prior to either of them taking their office), Evil's stepdaughter, and Death's wife's cousin.

In "Under a Velvet Cloak", Kerena (Nox, Incarnation of Night) is the lover of the original Sir Gawain, Knight of the Round Table, and mother of the original Gawain (Gaw-Two) who was tainted at birth and destined to die early. Kerena's quest to save Gaw-Two is what eventually leads her to become Nox, the Incarnation of Night and Keeper of Secrets. Gawain (Orlene's ghost husband) is the direct descendant of Sir Gawain, and carries the family taint, so the second Gaw-Two, born to Orlene and Ghost Gawain, is also tainted and destined to die early. Nox is also the great-aunt (many times removed) to Niobe and her children and grandchildren.

Lesser Incarnations edit

  • Hypnos: Incarnation of Sleep
  • JHVH: Incarnation of Jewish God (assumed to be Jehovah)

Lesser Incarnations serving Nature/Gaea edit

  • Eros: Incarnation of Love
  • Hope: Incarnation of Hope
  • Phobos & Deimos: Named after the Greek gods of fear and panic. These lesser Incarnations act as assistants to Gaea (Nature). Their functions are not explained in the books (although presumably they have similar natures to their Greek equivalents).

Lesser Incarnations serving War/Mars edit

  • Pestilence: disease in general, but especially consistent with the aftermath of battles.
  • Conquest: manager of individual battles
  • Famine: starvation consistent with battles (although this incarnation has served Death/Thanatos on at least one occasion)
  • Slaughter: a representation of the bloodshed associated with battles
  • The essentials formed a covenant

Cultural references edit

  • The Showtime series Dead Like Me was inspired by the book On a Pale Horse.[2]
  • In 2007, Anthony wrote that Disney had sold the TV rights to On a Pale Horse to Touchstone/ABC, which were "filming a pilot program".[3] In 2009 Javier Grillo-Marxuach wrote a pilot for the series for ABC,[4] but it was not picked up.

References edit

  1. ^ Anthony, Piers (1984). On a Pale Horse (1st Mass Market ed.). New York: Ballantine/Del Rey. p. 306. ISBN 0345338588.
  2. ^ Erickson, Hal. "Dead Like Me: Overview: Synopsis by Hal Erickson". AllMovie. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  3. ^ Anthony, Piers (April 2007). "Ogre's Den: Apull 2007". HiPiers.com. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  4. ^ . Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.

External links edit

January 01, 1970
incarnations, immortality, name, eight, book, fantasy, series, piers, anthony, books, each, focus, eight, supernatural, offices, death, time, fate, nature, evil, good, night, fictional, reality, history, parallel, ours, with, exception, that, society, advanced. Incarnations of Immortality is the name of an eight book fantasy series by Piers Anthony The books each focus on one of eight supernatural offices Death Time Fate War Nature Evil Good and Night in a fictional reality and history parallel to ours with the exception that society has advanced both magic and modern technology The series covers the adventures and struggles of a group of humans called Incarnations who hold these supernatural positions for a certain time The title alludes to William Wordsworth s 1804 poem Ode Intimations of Immortality 1 Contents 1 Bibliography 2 Themes 3 Characters 3 1 Family tree 3 2 Lesser Incarnations 3 2 1 Lesser Incarnations serving Nature Gaea 3 2 2 Lesser Incarnations serving War Mars 4 Cultural references 5 References 6 External linksBibliography editOn a Pale Horse 1983 Bearing an Hourglass 1984 With a Tangled Skein 1985 Wielding a Red Sword 1986 Being a Green Mother 1987 For Love of Evil 1988 And Eternity 1990 Under a Velvet Cloak 2007 Themes editIncarnations uses its premise to ponder questions regarding the nature of life As each character goes from a mortal life to the office of an Incarnation they are forced to contemplate their actions on a daily basis Each Incarnation may use their office within limits as they see fit This system humanizes what would otherwise be impersonal forces leading to both extensive considerations of the effects of the incarnation s work and the impact it has on not only humanity but also the other offices of immortality as well Another humorous side of Incarnations is the portrayed magic technology duality Most series emphasize one or the other means of understanding and manipulating the world but in Incarnations each method is equal in usefulness and respect This leads to a number of amusing parallels such as competition between automobile and magic carpet manufacturers By the future time period of Norton magic is referred to as the Fifth Fundamental Force with its own primary particle the Magicon similar to a graviton A few other series have used the technology magic combined motif notably Apprentice Adept another series by Piers Anthony and Four Lords of the Diamond by Jack Chalker although that book had an actual technological basis for the explanation of its magic in contrast to Piers Anthony s work Anthony uses the number five extensively The five Incarnations are associated with the five elements Death with Earth Fate with Water War with Fire Nature with Air and Time with Void and often other items with fives the previously mentioned Book of Five Rings There are five fundamental interactions magic being the fifth The Llano consists of five songs In On a Pale Horse Gaea teaches Zane five patterns of thought each represented by diagrams of five short lines A fourth theme of Incarnations is the multigenerational human story between the Incarnations Previous characters repeatedly appear in later novels and by the final novel every major character is related by blood marriage or affair See the family tree below Characters editFamily tree edit CedricNiobe Fate PacianBlanche Mym War Orb Nature Parry Evil GawainOrlene Good Norton Time Gawain II Magician Cedric Jr Blenda LunaZane Death Note Colors for each of the Incarnations used are from the covers of their respective books Note Gawain II was conceived by Norton and Orlene but has Gawain s genetic material instead of Norton s a favor performed by Gaea Relationships Zane Thanatos the Incarnation of Death is the lover and protector of Luna Kaftan Niobe s granddaughter Norton Chronos the Incarnation of Time is the lover of Orlene who becomes Good as well as the lover of Clotho Niobe Clotho and later Lachesis Aspects of the Incarnation of Fate is Orb s Gaea mother and grandmother to Luna Death s lover and Orlene Good She is also lover to Chronos Mym Mars the Incarnation of War is father to Orlene Good and former lover of Orb Gaea Orb Gaea Mother Nature is mother to Orlene Good daughter to Niobe Clotho Lachesis Fate and former lover of Mym War Parry Satan the Incarnation of Evil is married to Orb Mother Nature and stepfather to Orlene Good Orlene God sometimes called the Goddess the Incarnation of Good is Nature s daughter War s daughter Fate s granddaughter Time s lover and mother to his biological son prior to either of them taking their office Evil s stepdaughter and Death s wife s cousin In Under a Velvet Cloak Kerena Nox Incarnation of Night is the lover of the original Sir Gawain Knight of the Round Table and mother of the original Gawain Gaw Two who was tainted at birth and destined to die early Kerena s quest to save Gaw Two is what eventually leads her to become Nox the Incarnation of Night and Keeper of Secrets Gawain Orlene s ghost husband is the direct descendant of Sir Gawain and carries the family taint so the second Gaw Two born to Orlene and Ghost Gawain is also tainted and destined to die early Nox is also the great aunt many times removed to Niobe and her children and grandchildren Lesser Incarnations edit Hypnos Incarnation of Sleep JHVH Incarnation of Jewish God assumed to be Jehovah Lesser Incarnations serving Nature Gaea edit Eros Incarnation of Love Hope Incarnation of Hope Phobos amp Deimos Named after the Greek gods of fear and panic These lesser Incarnations act as assistants to Gaea Nature Their functions are not explained in the books although presumably they have similar natures to their Greek equivalents Lesser Incarnations serving War Mars edit Pestilence disease in general but especially consistent with the aftermath of battles Conquest manager of individual battles Famine starvation consistent with battles although this incarnation has served Death Thanatos on at least one occasion Slaughter a representation of the bloodshed associated with battles The essentials formed a covenantCultural references editThe Showtime series Dead Like Me was inspired by the book On a Pale Horse 2 In 2007 Anthony wrote that Disney had sold the TV rights to On a Pale Horse to Touchstone ABC which were filming a pilot program 3 In 2009 Javier Grillo Marxuach wrote a pilot for the series for ABC 4 but it was not picked up References edit Anthony Piers 1984 On a Pale Horse 1st Mass Market ed New York Ballantine Del Rey p 306 ISBN 0345338588 Erickson Hal Dead Like Me Overview Synopsis by Hal Erickson AllMovie Retrieved 23 May 2022 Anthony Piers April 2007 Ogre s Den Apull 2007 HiPiers com Retrieved 23 May 2022 Downloads THE GRILLO MARXUACH EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN BUREAU Archived from the original on 6 July 2017 Retrieved 16 September 2017 External links editIncarnations of Immortality series listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Official Piers Anthony Website Incarnations of Immortality Timeline Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Incarnations of Immortality amp oldid 1222665744, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.